EXCLUSIVE: Inside Adamawa’s Juvenile Centre Where Children Survive On ₦150 Daily, Sleep Hungry On Bare Floors

Hidden behind the walls of Adamawa State’s only juvenile correctional facility is a harsh reality—dozens of young offenders, some as young as 10, are reportedly surviving on just N150 a day, raising urgent questions about the state’s commitment to rehabilitative justice for children.

According to credible insider sources, the facility—officially known as the Adamawa State Juvenile Delinquency Correctional Centre but locally referred to as the Remand Home—runs on a meagre N100,000 monthly budget.

This amount, insiders say, is supposed to cover the welfare of a fluctuating population of between 15 and 45 young inmates, all in critical stages of physical and emotional development.

Located along Hospital Road, near the State Low-Cost Housing Estate, the centre was originally designed to rehabilitate minors in conflict with the law. However, multiple staff members, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of intimidation and reprisal, paint a grim picture of neglect, malnutrition, and systemic abandonment.

“You don’t want to see these kids; God knows they are just children. They’re supposed to be growing, learning. Instead, they’re wasting away,” lamented one male staffer.

A female worker added, “The situation here is disgustingly inhumane. These kids live like pigs. They sleep on bare floors, sometimes on an empty stomach. It’s heartbreaking.”

Meals, they revealed, consist of twice-daily servings of corn flour with baobab leaf soup (known locally as miyan kuka), often containing just a few beans to meet protein needs.

There is no fruit, no dairy, no medical support, and little else that might be considered “rehabilitative.”

“How can anyone expect N100,000 to feed, clothe, and rehabilitate 25 to 40 children for a whole month? Even animals are treated better,” argued another staff member.

When SaharaReporters reached out to the Centre’s head, Mrs. Aisha Ibrahim, she declined to comment. She referred inquiries to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Zainab Adamu.

Adamu dismissed the N100,000 monthly allocation figure as “untrue,” but offered no specific figures.

“The number of children fluctuates between five and 40, so there’s no way the allocation for their upkeep will be the same every month,” she said vaguely.

However, the Permanent Secretary confirmed that the facility lacks beds, has no educational programmes, and no recreational facilities for the children—essentials widely regarded as foundational in any juvenile rehabilitation system.

Juvenile correctional centres are intended to provide a safe environment for rehabilitation, rather than punishment.

Designed for offenders under the age of 18, these institutions are mandated to provide education, mental health support, vocational training, and, above all, adequate care to ensure that these children are reformed and reintegrated into society.

But in many Nigerian states, including Adamawa, such ideals are far from reality. Crippling underfunding, poor infrastructure, and lack of government oversight have transformed these institutions into zones of suffering.